Prevention from an early age
A children’s book about the heart by Dimitrios Vrachatis, Interventional Cardiologist – Electrophysiologist and Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Our heart is like a car that can travel along any road. The way it is driven — the choices made by the person behind the wheel — determines its condition. We are the driver, and we take the wheel long before we get a driving licence. This book tells that story to children in a simple, warm way, so that the car they drive can travel many hundreds of kilometres.
Release: September 2026
Let me be honest with you for a moment, speaking first as a doctor and then as an author:
Why I wrote this book
We have all been to the doctor, and we do not like being questioned or told to change our habits. We cannot stop smoking immediately and for good — we have busy lives. A little salt makes our food tastier. We try to put off taking “the pill”.
Yet we do not mind taking two or three “herbal supplements” in the hope of avoiding that pill — how ironic. At that moment, our defensive reflexes, combined with a lack of specialist knowledge, can lead many people not to follow their doctor’s advice.
How different things might be if we understood early on what is happening: how those “risk factors” that doctors keep trying to correct actually work. Can we achieve that understanding before disease develops — before our blood vessels are damaged and the problem appears as a heart attack or stroke?
I have personally seen patients change their behaviour when they truly understood that we are not obsessed with the bold numbers on test results: the things we are trying to control act together, multiplying the damage.
The earlier these interventions begin, the greater their potential. These are things we should all know from childhood.
I wrote this book so that our young friends can learn, in an enjoyable way, that small choices can help them maintain good health for many years.
As parents read the story with their children, they too will receive a gift from them — without even realising it.
What you will find inside
The adventure of the heart-car aims to explain to children everything a cardiologist would like them to know: the importance of good habits such as healthy eating and exercise, the harmful effects of habits such as smoking, and the role our choices play in maintaining good health.
By reminding them of the heart-car, you can easily remind them of healthy habits in a way they can understand, rather than simply saying that “sweets are bad for you”. With luck, these good habits will stay in their minds and follow them into adulthood.
This is not an illustrated medical textbook. It is a beautiful story — and what we learn from a good story stays with us forever.
Who it is for
For anyone who wants to talk to their children or grandchildren about heart health: to explain difficult ideas simply, without fear or confusing terms. It is an excellent gift for any child who loves stories. They will enjoy a little time without even knowing they are learning something important. Alongside them, you may also learn the things nobody told you when you were a child.
Have any questions?